Gas Milage

bottom line is no one really knows. fuel quality is so inconsistent. that mileage varies WIDELY. i can fuel up and get 6. next day i fuel up at the same place. and i only get 5.

typically slower means less wind resistance. so yes. but slower also means less loads, less revenue. but that would depend on your operation.

loss of revenue trumps fuel savings.
save $200 per week in fuel. haul one less load at $1000.

i did the 55 thing. and i was just waiting for someone to run into me.

 

I agree that it really depends on your operation. If you are an O/O pulling loads for a fixed rate AND you have set appointment times that allow you to run slower, then by all means run in the best way for fuel efficiency. Normally if you are on a fixed rate per mile you aren't getting top dollar revenue and need to be careful with the expense side of the coin.

If you are in a higher revenue business and fuel is a fraction of your settlement checks AND running faster will result in additional loads and revenue, THEN it is better for your business if you run faster and forget about fuel cost.

My O/O brother is a good example. Last year he was hauling dry van, live loads and unloads only (no drop and hook), for only $1.35/mile. Fuel cost in his '03 Kenworth averaged about $0.67 per mile. By the time all other costs were factored in he basically "bought a job" and could have made about as much as a highly paid company driver without the headaches and risks.

This year he's leased on with a company hauling freight to and from oil wells out of OKC and he's paid by percentage of the load. His revenue is about four times higher and therefore his fuel cost is a small fraction of his total revenue. It makes more sense for him to run at 75 mph to get a couple more loads per week.

 

Gas is for a car. This is a trucking forum.

 

Lower speed can definitely improves mileage. It can vary how much depending on if your running on flat ground, through hills and weight of the load. Running slower can also lower stress on tires. Running during higher temperatures increases your chances of blowouts. Hotter pavement, higher speed hotter tires.

 

Really good answer to a serious question.

 

The statement on no one knows on fuel mileage is a statement based on ignorance. Physics is physics, rolling resistance is rolling resistance. slower does not get you "run over" It makes it so you never have to struggle to pass, no panic, no cutting someone off. At times it does make sense to go faster, but not often. There's no way around the fact that it takes more fuel to push thru the air. On the part about running 75 to get more loads, I disagree. I haul those same loads I think, diesel to the rigs, crude back. I have less wear and tear over 5 years and only lose 2 loads a week. I feel I come out way ahead on fuel and cost as fuel is NEVER a small part of your costs.

 

I dont know if u are a driver or a op/sounds like your an DRIVER-any who most OWNER OPERATORS BUY THERE OWN TRUCK BECAUSE SIMPLY we GOT TIRED oF BEING treAtEd the way we were TREATED,WE Are GROWN MAN AND WOMAN in this INDUSTRY ..We arent KiDs, You Dont give us Good LOADS JUstBECAUSE U EXPECT US TO KISS YOURA$S and when we refuse a load BECAUSe we have perzonal things we need to tend to and get home and take care of and the FLEET MANAGERS WANT TO SLAP U ON YO WRIST AND MAKE U SIT in TIMEOUT ON DA LOAD for 3 days ....lol so u might say Y BUY A JOB HUH?? Hmmm let me see maybe because i rather run my operation the WAY I WANT TO, make as much as I want to,when I want to,get paid when i want to O YEAH DID I FORGET GO HOME when I WANT TO, DO WHAT I WANT TO, REFUSE A LOAD WHEN I WANT TO...?HMmmmm I GUESS WHEN U DO ALL THIS, ITS REALLY NOT A JOB, ITS YOUR BUSINESS *It iS WHAT IT IS DRIVER*BELIEVE IT OR NOT, BUT I DONT KNOW THAT MANY COMPANY DRIVERS working for JB HUNT, SCHNEIDER, USA, USXPRESS, WERNER SO ON AND SO ON *U GET MY DRIFT OR UNLESS HES A L/P or L/P or trainer THAT BRING HOME $2000-2500 every week, and can FREELY DO WHaT THEY WANT,,, whenever they want ..do U DO ANY OF THE ABOVE EVERYWEEK? ???? DONT WORRY I ALLREADY KNOW WHAT YOUR ANSWER IS....AND AS FAR AS FUEL IT MATTERS N IT DONT EITHER RUN A EXTRA LOAD IF U HEAVY ON THE PEDAL TO HELP MAKE UP FOR IT....OR FIND THAT SWEET SPOT AND KEEP IT THERE N DONT RUN A EXTRA...WITH ME IT DEPENDS ON HOW MY WEEK IS RUNNING-BUT to FELICIA YUR HUSBAND IS A SMART GUY! ALOT OF VARIABLES INVOLVED

 

Assuming both drivers run legal. 70x11 700 miles a day. That's what I can log and get away with. 700x5 3500...3500x50 is 175k for easy math well do 2.00/mile avg. 350k gross. 55x11 550...that translates to 550x5 2750...2750x5 137500...x2.00 275k gross...so tell me with a difference of 75k/year in revenue how much better it is to run 55 instead of 70. Take away the 15k for fuel and that's 60k clear more than enough to rebuild a motor trans and rears not to mention replace shocks brakes and tires etc. That's enough to buy a lightly used truck that possibly still has a factory warranty and can get an extended warranty on.

Every time a fuel mileage argument comes up NOBODY thinks about the added revenue.

 

Yes, I consider gross revenue AND net revenue. Are we all going down this road again on this thread?

I avg 2000mi/wk over a year. Most loads are load today deliver tomorrow with less than 500mi length of haul. 5day work week and about 10 hr workday over all. My net revenue comes out to about $35/hour if I can stay on the eastern half of the country.

I don't work too hard and have no need to tailgate and run "slow, stupid" people off the road. Those guys are usually netting nothing and are always mad because "it is everybody elses fault".

If I need to speed up to the speed limit for a few miles to make that 3pm appointment vs sitting till tomorrow a.m. I do. If I don't make it, no big deal. I can manage my own time as needed.

I avg 59mph, Swift passes, I could care less because I take home a lot more money than him.
Plus, I never have to ask my teacher, er, I mean, dispatcher; to take off, get home, earn more money, etc.
I'm my dispatcher! It's kinda nice being out of grade school.

 

That guy you're married to sounds an awful lot like the rarest of drivers, a real pro.

Yes, it makes a huge difference, and not just in mileage department. "If you drive like everyone else, you're doing it wrong".